Cliff Palace Frontispiece North rim of the mesa 5 Rugged canyons of the Mesa Verde 5 Two-Story Cliff House 15 Cliff Palace, a busy city 35 Life in a cliff dwelling 41 Black-on-white pottery 51 Decorated and corrugated jars 55 Old men sit in the sun 67 A busy afternoon 67 Modern Indian cornfield 79 Farming terraces 79 Bone and stone tools 87 Corn drying on the roofs 101 The man who cut the log too short 101 Interior of a kiva 111 A kiva roof 111 Basket Maker mummy 127 A typical burial 127 Visitors entering Balcony House 147 An ancient style show 163 Basket Maker cradle 175 Pueblo cradle board 175 Small, high cliff dwellings 185 PART ONE People of the Mesa Verde 1 ECHOS OF THE PAST Under the arching roof of a tremendous cave stands a silent, empty city. For almost seven centuries it has stood there looking out across the canyon toward the setting sun. Proudly, almost haughtily, it has resisted the heavy tread of those slow centuries. Like a giant with a shawl of everlasting stone pulled closely about its shoulders it has stood with unbowed head, an eternal monument to the intelligence and industry of its builders. Almost seven centuries ago the people turned their backs on their proud city and walked away. All of the forces of nature seemed to be against them. The rains failed to fall; the springs ceased to flow. No corn grew in the fields. At last, weak from lack of food and water, and bewildered by the failure of the gods to answer their hysterical prayers they surrendered to the inevitable. Sadly they turned their backs on the once happy city and walked down the canyon, never to return. Cliff Palace, the crowning glory of the Mesa Verde, was a silent, deserted city.